DeKalb City Council to vote on Hometown Sports Bar & Grill TIF funds, transit services

DeKALB – In lieu of hired help to oversee transit consulting services, City Manager Bill Nicklas is recommending that the City Council instead use an on-call consultant.

For the past year, the city has employed a part-time transit consolidation coordinator to oversee the consolidation of the Huskie Line with the city's transit system, according to the agenda for Monday's council meeting, which is set for 6 p.m. at the DeKalb Municipal Building. The consolidation resulted in a $10 million transit budget for 2019. There also are two full-time transit service employees: transit manager Marcus Cox and transit grants administrator Sabrina Kuykendall.

According to the agenda, the consolidation coordinator’s employment ended March 9. The DeKalb Public Works Department and Nicklas recommend that the city put out a request for proposals for an on-call consultant.

The switch would not affect the budget, and it instead would allow for the consultant to be funded through federal and state transit grant funds, according to the agenda.

The role would include helping with route scheduling as needed, as well as monitoring service costs, planning capital projects and soliciting grant funding.

During Monday's meeting, the council also will discuss Hometown Sports Bar & Grill, 241 to 249 E. Lincoln Highway, which is up next to receive tax increment financing funds after the council earmarked $150,000 from
TIF 2 in December for the property.

Owner Tom Schmidt plans to expand his restaurant to the neighboring property and create a second bar and restaurant space for live entertainment, called "Stage Left by Hometown Sports Bar & Grill."

According to the agenda, the $150,000 in TIF funds would go toward the total project costs, which are $558,900.

In the event the project costs exceed that amount, Nicklas is authorized to increase the TIF incentive up to $167,600, according to the agenda. The incentive cannot exceed 27 percent of the total project costs, according to the TIF agreement.

The council also will vote whether to authorize a transfer of two small parcels of land for $1 each to Larry and Kay Berke, owners of Royal Travels & Tours, 122 N. First St.

The transfer is part of a recent compromise regarding the Egyptian Theatre improvement plans.